Lev's shoulder was starting to ache with all the weight that was placed upon it. The cat was not that heavy but it was still too much for Lev to bear.
"I think that's enough sitting for you," He brushed the cat off of his shoulder.
The cat plummeted down and landed on his 4 feet. He lifted his small head and looked at Lev, curious at what he was planning to do next.
Lev looked up at the sky and noticed that it was starting to get dark. He guessed that it was maybe around 5 p.m., more or less, and he started to follow the footpath that was leading to the end of the village, where his dreadful life awaits.
"Time to go home," He whispered in the air.
The cat went along with him. People were becoming fewer and fewer in the streets, some shops started to close down while others started to open. The village was less active during the night, but some few people would still wander around.
They reached the dark house that was a little bit tilted. The yellow dim light that Lev saw yesterday inside the house wasn't yet lit.
"She's not home yet," Lev sighed and drew a deep breath. He looked at the cat and said, "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to bring a pet home. I hope that she won't get mad."
Lev entered and turned the lights on. He looked around and made sure that everything was in order. The stench that once lingered in the house was gone, making it look more like a normal house inside, but with more empty space and less furniture. Lev somehow felt proud of himself thinking that all of this happened because of his hard work. He took off his jacket and hat, hung them on the wall, and started to ignite the fireplace. It was normal for them to leave the fireplace burning because it had a low chance that the fire would spread on the floor and cause an accident. This was because around the fireplace, the floor was either made of concrete flooring or an anti-burning wax that was applied on the flooring. So even if a lump of burning coal would accidentally jump out of the fireplace, the fire won't spread.
The cat sat by the doorframe, observing Lev's every action and examined the things that were inside.
Lev noticed and hurriedly walked toward him while saying, "You can't enter here, Lola might find out and kick you outside." He carried the cat and continued, "Lola might kick me out too. Just stay here on the porch." He put the cat down on the windowsill and stared outside through the screened window.
Street lamps lit one by one and the village houses started to brighten up the peaceful village, making it beautiful and aesthetic. But in the midst of that beauty, a lady that was wearing a black sweater and a dark-brown panelled skirt with a few twirls on its end was briskly walking, carrying a plastic bag. She was none other than Lola.
He quickly looked down at the windowsill where he placed the cat but to his surprise, it was gone. He looked around but found nothing. He tried to check if he was inside the house but found no movement.
"What is with all this fuss you are making?" Lola growled.
Lev jolted and took a look back. He was surprised that she was already standing behind him, only inches away from each other. One moment ago, she was walking outside, and a second later, she was right behind him.
"Nothing," He replied.
Black shadows started to twist on Lola's limbs as though black snakes were slowly crawling into its prey. The shadows reached her head and it absorbed into her skull. Her face turned dark, lips dry, and her glare cold. The circles beneath her eyes turned darker. Overall, she looked much worse than last night.
She hunched her back, and her eyes were looking straight up at Lev's eyes.
Lev couldn't sense any warmth in it, only a dark, black abyss. The shadow that was progressively getting thicker tried to stretch towards Lev, almost like countless oozing black worms were reaching out to touch his face.
Lev jerked his head away. He tried to keep his head away from that strange thing. His breath quickened, turning into short breaths, as the feeling of being choked hit him.
The oozing black was almost touching his face. They were like centimeters away from their next target when suddenly an empty flower pot fell off from the windowsill outside. Lola turned her face away from Lev's and looked at the porch, her body was still in a hunchback position which made it creepy for Lev to witness such awkward and bizarre position right on the front of him.
A cold wind blew through the window and into the house, making the dancing fire shudder a little bit. Lola straightened up and placed the plastic bag that she was carrying on the table. She entered her room and slammed the door, and locking noises could be heard inside.
Lev was panting hard. His knees were feeling weak from all that horror and anxiety. He sat on the chair and collected his thoughts.
What was that? It was more atrocious than last night! Lev felt crying. He placed both of his hands in his temples and he couldn't stop shaking.
After a few minutes, he managed to pull himself together. He closed his eyes and started to calm down. Only a day had passed but for Lev, he felt that a few years had been stolen from him from all that panic and stress.
Lev opened his eyes and saw the plastic bag that Lola placed a while ago. Inside was a paper bag and inside the paper bag was a bread: three pieces of it.
Maybe it's for her breakfast tomorrow morning... I'll just leave it at that... Lev thought.
He stood up, took his jacket, went outside, and closed the door. And then back at the windowsill was the cat, sitting there with a smirk-like on his face.
"You're back. I was wondering where you ran off to," Lev said in a hushed tone. He collected the broken pieces of the pot and threw it away. He sat on the bench and tried to relax his mind. When he closed his eyes, he could see Lola's face in his head. He tried to think of a happy place or a happy moment in his life but that horrible scene just kept replaying.
"I can't take it anymore," Lev stood up and walked towards the screened door. "I'll go take a walk."
He needed something to distract his mind so he decided to take an evening stroll. The cat quickly hopped on Lev's shoulder, startling him.
"You really do like to sit on my shoulder, huh?" Lev idly said.
The cat nodded.
"Wait, did you just nod?" Lev noticed the cat's action.
The cat changed his gaze elsewhere, avoiding Lev's question.
"Must be my imagination," Lev cleared his throat and continued walking.
In the village, Lev noticed couples were everywhere: in the cafés, pubs, the lakeside, and even in the streets.
"Wow. At midday, people are busy with their jobs. But at nighttime, Young and old couples are everywhere," Lev said.
Lev was not interested in love, or at least not yet. So the view of couples kissing, or hugging, or anything that was love-related, made him cringe.
Winter wind has already been blowing in that country. Sooner than later, snow will follow. The dark clouds that hovered above the alps were the sign that winter was nearly coming.
Lev was standing on the lakeside and he was scanning the clouds that were above the alps. Lightning seldomly struck like someone was painting the sky with zigzag lines. It moved with accuracy and struck the base of the mountain. Dark clouds started to roll down the mountain, making it look like an avalanche made of black snow.
"Winter is coming," Lev whispered.